A Lesson in True Strength
by Rob4133
Summary: A quirkless Izuku finds someone who believes in him and gives him a lesson early in his life. Izuku doesn't inherit One for All. One-Shot.


**Very AU. Naruto universe will play a very small part. I just started watching MHA recently, so I apologize if I got something wrong. You also might question some things when the come up, I've explained the things I could think of at the end. **

Izuku Midoriya lay on the ground with tears streaming down his cheeks. HIs chest hurt from where the hulking black monster had lazily backhanded him. He was pretty sure that he had a few broken ribs, if not worse. He slammed a fist on the ground in anger.

_"He's too strong! I can't do anything! How can I be a hero if I can't save anyone?" _Flashes of memories of people telling him he couldn't be a hero without a quirk ran through his mind. The final one being his favorite hero, All Might. That hurt more than anything. But he had never stopped working. Martial arts, meditation, studying everything he could get his hands on. And then at the entrance exams he passed on a fluke (according to everyone else). A girl was trapped under some rubble and directly in the path of the zero pointer robot. He was close enough to move the rubble and pick her up before the robot crushed them. If she hadn't had made herself lighter with her powers, then he probably wouldn't have been able to even do that. So he passed with 45 hero points. 3 points above the cutoff.

Tsuyu and Mineta were a little ways away locked in fear. He tried to tell them to run but they just stood there with their eyes wide and shivering in fright. Two more people, (_"friends?_) that were going to die.

Izuku's spirit was broken. _"He's too strong. I can't beat him without a quirk. Maybe I can't be a hero." _

_"__**Didn't I tell you once before? You're already a hero Izu-kun. You're my hero!" **_ That voice that was always in the back of his head. Helping him, guiding him. Nudging him in the right direction. Giving him hints on what to study or telling him when he was being stubborn or childish. He thought back to the first time he heard that voice.

_Flashback _

A four year old Izuku held his mothers hand as they waited at a stop light to cross the street. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes because he was just told that he wouldn't ever develop a quirk. No quirk meant no hero. No hero meant he couldn't save people and give them hope with his smile like the number one hero All Might. This couldn't be happening.

It was then he saw an older woman with long silver hair reading a paper about to step off the curb. He remembered his lesson from his mother about crossing the street before the light changed colors. He reached out and grabbed her shirt.

"Watch out miss!" She turned to him just as a car screeched past directly where she was going to step.

"Oh my! Y-you saved me. Thank you so much! What's your name young man?"

"Izuku Midoriya ma'am," he replied happily as the earlier news briefly forgotten.

"I'm his mother, Inko," she said smiling down at him. "Izuku loves helping people."

"My name is Hinata Uzumaki. Please let me treat you to lunch," she finished with a bow. After agreeing they all went to a restaurant and enjoyed a relaxing, delicious lunch.

"Umm, Miss Hinata? I was wondering about your eyes. Is that your quirk?" She had pupil-less violet eyes.

"Izuku! What have I said about being rude? It's not nice to ask about something like that." Inko scolded him.

Hinata merely laughed lightly, "It's okay Inko-san." She looked at Izuku. "I guess you can call it that. It's something that's been in my family for a very long time now. And what about you? Do you know your quirk yet?"

Izuku's depression hit full force once again. "I don't have a quirk." He hung his head and tears gathered in his eyes.

Inko explained as her eyes watered as well. "He's wanted to be a hero from the first moment he could talk. The doctors diagnosed him as quirkless."

"What does that have to do with being a hero?"

Izuku's head shot up. "You need a quirk to be a hero. That's why heroes are so strong."

She laughed again, "Izuku-kun, I'm going to tell you a secret I learned from one of the strongest heroes ever." Both Midoriyas eyes widened. "When a person has something important they want to protect, that's when they become truly strong."

"Something important?"

"Do you have anyone that's precious to you?"

"Yeah, mom! And my best friend, Kacchan! I wouldn't let anything happen to them."

"Then I believe you can become truly strong. You'll be a great hero one day."

"Thank you baasan," Izuku said with tears of joy. "I won't let you down, because your my precious person too. I'll be the number one hero some day!" Hinata saw the fire and conviction in his eyes and for a second, it was like seeing a young Naruto all over again.

_"I'll see you soon Naruto,"_ she thought. _"He will be our legacy to the world." _ She leaned over and gave a kiss on his forehead. "Grow strong Izu-kun. And don't forget, your mother and I believe in you."

_Flashback End_

Izuku was blinded by a flash of light before he opened his eyes to find himself in a field of healthy green grass and tall oak and maple trees. "Where am I?"

"This is where your mind and soul meet. The people of my home village call it a mindscape."

He spun around, "Hinata-baasan! What happened to you? We tried to visit you but we never heard anything about you."

"I died shortly after I met you." Izuku looked confused. "I was very old, and my time was near. Meeting you and your mother was the best thing to happen to me in years and I passed away with happy thoughts and smile on my face thanks to you."

"I don't understand, if you died, then how are you here?"

"The people from my village found a way to harness our life energy and use it in various ways. One of these ways was called fūinjutsu. I used this technique to seal some of my life energy, chakra, into you. I've tried to help you and provide guidance all these years."

"But why? Why me? I can't do anything. That monster is too strong. It's designed to be All Might."

"Because I believe in you." She said with a soft smile. Izuku knew that she meant those words with all of her being. "I'm going to use the rest of the energy I have to unlock your chakra. You can use that energy in so many different ways. You'll have to figure out how yourself, but for now, focus on it and it'll make you stronger and faster."

"You're leaving me?" He asked in a small wavering voice. "I don't want you to go."

Hinata squatted down in front of him. "I'll always be here," she pointed to his chest, "and here", she tapped his head. "I'm doing this because I'm strong. Do you know what gives me this strength?" She didn't wait for him to finish. "You're precious to me, and I'm strong because of you." She gave him a kiss on his forehead in the exact same place she did all those years ago. Her form started to waver and disappear. "Show them Izu-kun!" Her voice sounded distant, "show them all what real strength is!"

Izuku opened his eyes and found himself back at USJ. Tsuyu and Mineta were still frozen in terror. Aizawa sensei was still bloody and looked to be on the edge of consciousness. Izuku struggled to stand, still gripping his hurt side, but finally managed to do so.

"What's this?" Shigiraki exclaimed. "A wanna be hero wants to die first? I guess you have to kill the NPCs before you get to the boss fight. Nomu!"

"Midoriya! Take Asui and Minoru and run! They're too strong for you!"

When Izuku looked up the teacher of class A1 gasped. Tears still pooled in his eyes, but all fear was now gone. Only a look of determination and unbreakable will met his gaze.

"That's not real strength. Real strength doesn't come from quirks. I had forgotten that. And I lost something precious because I had forgotten. But I won't ever forget again. 'When a person has something important they want to protect, that's when they become truly strong!'"

Izuku closed his eyes and concentrated on that energy he felt from Hinata. His mind kept pulling up images of the villains and his friends and teachers being hurt. A chaotic swirl of images kept ruining his concentration. Then he saw his mom standing by the door with a lunch bag in her hand and a smile on her face. "Have a great day." He grabbed his lunch and left. As he walked out the door of his house a voice sounded behind him, "I believe in you Izu-kun. Show them all." He spun around and saw Hinata standing next to his mom. He reached a hand out toward them and their images evaporated and swirled into his palm. He felt a swell of energy travel through his body to the pit of his stomach. He focused just like Hinata had told him and directed it to the rest of his body.

"HHHHYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Green energy that looked like flames surrounded Izuku's form. Dirt was blown away from him and winds buffeted those near him.

"What's this?" Shigiraki yelled. "He's supposed to be an NPC! Not a mini-boss!" Before he could say more though, Izuku's form blurred.

Izuku rushed forward before the monster could get the first move. _I've got to target it's weak points. I'm not tall enough to get his eyes, so joint's, tendon's, kidney's and liver. _ He came in to a stop in front of the Nomu.

"2 points!" He struck in the pattern he had been practicing for years. He only now began to realize that the voice-Hinata had been guiding him to develop specific techniques. He only hoped he did her proud.

"4 points!"

"8 points!"

"16 points!"

Shouta Aizawa couldn't believe what he was seeing. The fact that he couldn't even keep up with the speeds only added to his disbelief. Izuku Midoriya realistically had no chance to be a hero when he first met him. The only reason he hadn't kicked the kid out was he had more determination and work ethic than anyone else in the school. But seeing him now, his arms were blur. All he could see were after images of his hands and arms as they moved. Then if what he had seen so far hadn't been enough, it looked like he sped up. The afterimages he saw before seemed to blend a form a wall of arms, almost like the blades of a helicopter at full speed.

_"I have to be faster! This thing has to go down. More speed, more power. Come on!"_

"32 points!"

"64 points!"

"8 Trigrams 128 points!" With one final strike Nomu skidded back a foot, remaining motionless and seemingly unfazed.

"Is that all NPC? Love taps? Nomu!" Nomu turned his head to look at his master. "Kill him!" Nomu turned his head back to Izuku and with a howl, fell forward onto his face. Jaws dropped. Izuku's fingers were a bloody mess. They were twisted and mangled and dripping blood. The Nomu on the ground would twitch randomly. Izuku knew it was only a matter of time before the ligaments and nerves he managed to damage were repaired.

It was then that a loud bang rang out and a voice that he once cherished sounded out. "Have no fear children, for I am here!" Knowing that they were rescued, he fell back as he let himself drift into unconsciousness.

**A couple points I want to make. First I know it's the palm technique, but he would have no knowledge of that. It was something that Hinata's chakra clone guided him to. He targeted weak points so that's how he came up with it. As far as the 8 trigrams, that was something he learned during his studies. Made simple, it's cycle of 8 elements in which its counter is opposite in the circle. Izuku worked on using this cycle in his attacks. So if he attacked the upper left shoulder, his next attack would be the lower right area.**

**Secondly, I know the quote about true strength came from Haku, but Hinata first heard it after Naruto adopted it. So she thinks of him whenever she hears that quote. **


End file.
